With TONY OKOROJI
The legacy of great men is that they leave behind great lessons. By their words and deeds and strength of character, they change popular concepts and constructs.
This past week began with the news everywhere that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Jimoh Moshood, has declared the political activist, Omoyele Sowore “wanted” by the police, like a common criminal.
It is very significant that the week ended with the hunter becoming the hunted and Nigerians being taught an important lesson in Civics: No policeman, not a Commissioner of Police, not even the Inspector-General of Police, has the authority to publicly declare any Nigerian citizen “wanted” without following the due process of law. Before now, how many Nigerians knew that?
One of Nigeria’s biggest problems is the rabid and reckless abuse of power by public officers. On appointment or election, the average Nigerian public official does not do a serious study, neither is he taught the true limits of his powers. He would begin to flex his muscles and even begin to act as a semi- National Assembly, making and executing his own laws; laws that cannot be read in any statute.
Sadly, our understanding of power is not the ability to do good or to help people or to reduce suffering. When a Nigerian acquires power, he believes that he has acquired the ability to oppress, to impose hardship, to imprison and to torment others. It invariably includes the ability to take what does not belong to him.
I have written in Saturday Breakfast before that no great nation in human history has been built by cowards. Omoyele Sowore has shown that he is not a coward. I might not agree with every political position he takes, but I have come to respect his conviction, steadfastness and strength of character. I am impressed by his readiness to pay a significant price for what he believes in. For someone who has travelled widely, his readiness to give up his freedom of movement and not be cowed by his constant detention, is inspiring.
I have only met Omoyele Sowore once. That was a few years ago at the palace of the Emir of Kano. I was with my late friend and colleague, the Rub-a-Dub Master, Ras Kimono. We spoke for a while and I was impressed by his energy.
In a true democracy, the citizens are ‘king’. Every public official serves and is accountable to the people. Sowore reminds us of that every day. His commitment to the rule of law aligns with my belief that if we are afraid to go to court and test the power of the state and the law, regardless of our reservations of the judicial system, we are not better than captives in a cage. Like Sowore, I go to court to test impunity and the law..
I was amused by a video I recently saw online in which Sowore was arguing with officers of the EFCC about taking photos of the EFCC Headquarters. Sowore reminded the EFCC guys that the building is a public building built with public funds and that there is nothing wrong in taking photos of the place. I have taken photos in front of the White House in Washington DC. I have taken photos in front of the US Capitol. I have taken photos at various airports around the world but I have been warned not to take photos at Nigerian airports. What are we hiding?
One of the issues that has bothered me greatly recently, is our fast slide into regional and ethnic hatred, especially between our brothers from the East and those from the West of Nigeria. I am not sure that the people who promote this madness remember the mayhem that occurred between the Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda, not long ago. I am an unapologetic Igbo man but my friends come from everywhere. I believe that tribalism is the most dangerous form of illiteracy. I wish to thank Omoyele Sowore, born to an Ondo family, for making the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, born to an Abia family, a national issue and not an ethnic issue. I am not sure many realize how much that goes to douse the ethnic tension heating up in the country.
A major part of the crisis that the Nigerian nation has faced since Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu became President of Nigeria is that there are many in the country who believe that Tinubu does not belong to them. It has been underlined by those who by their actions, words and body language tell you that Tinubu does not belong to you but to them and them alone. These people believe that they are ‘the inheritors’ of the Tinubu mandate and the inheritors behave like they are conquerors of the Nigerian nation and that they are not bound by the rule of law.
I have encountered this behavior everywhere. These people may have tarnished the Tinubu brand and have turned it into an ethnic and partisan brand and I believe he has not done enough to change the narrative.
While the President fights those he may consider his enemies, his biggest enemies may be those he considers his loyalists. They are chasing away ordinary Nigerians; those who are not politicians and are not looking forward to any appointments or contracts. These people cannot understand what is going on and are fleeing in droves. Soon, very soon, the falcon may no longer hear the falconer.
Thank you, Mr. Sowore, a true Nigerian, for your service to our nation.
See you next week.
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